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The Reporter. (Akron, Ohio), 1996-07-27

The Reporter. (Akron, Ohio), 1996-07-27 page 1

P tyV /I L'ght In The Darkness V 27 Years Of Service To The Community '?"' 3SS?S&^SS?!^???rSS!!^* VOL. XXVD ? JULY 27,1996 THRU AUGUST 3,1996 SECTION A 25 CENTS PER COPY *< ?^^^?^??i^^??i^mm^___ Is Section 8 Housing Breeding Ground For Crime? I Is The Northwest Community And Its Specific Neighborhoods I Caught In the Crossfire Of Individuals' Personal Agendas ? by Lara Watkins Crime has been reported lately as seriously on the rise in Northwest Akron In particular North Hawkins Avenue at Thurmont Road encompassing Treeside, Cromwell, and Dominion Drives, the hot zone being Zahn Drive. The bone that has been thrown to Akron area residents is that Section 8 housing coming into that small, isolated parcel of rental properties in the Northwest area is causing its share of undue and malicious crime that is literally tearing down the moral fiber as well as the real estate value of property in that area, sending the community into a panic of uncontrollable fear and rage. At first glance it appears that race has nothing to do with it because working-class African Americans who have moved into this mostly affluent section of town to live decently and quietly, able to raise their children in a low-crime, healthy, clean and prosperous environment, are also outraged, openly taking offense along with the rest of the community of the deplorable increase of crime brought to the area under the federal government's Housing and Community Act of 1974 permitting government subsidized housing to the poor. Many African American nonSection 8 apartment and townhouse dwellers as well as area homeowners who pay the price to live unafraid and unconcerned for their and their children's safety and well-being and their acquired property, find the ghetto and all of its wasteful baggage entrenching all around, plaguing them and the rest of the community with an onslaught of felonies and misdemeanor crimes. Like a runaway train without brakes low-income residents are making no apologies for being there ? by reason of their right to live anywhere they want under the non-discrimination clause of Section 8, enforced by the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority Fair Housing program.There is no limit to how many low-income Section 8 tenants may move into any specific area of the city. Section 8 applicants, therefore, have free choice in picking where they want to live in "scattered" locations around the city as long as the private landlords with whom they contract meet the federal government's income guidelines and the property passes government inspectionsAt the top of the list of those complaining the loudest has been Bob Keith, owner of Thurmont House, a convenience store and pizza place which also sells alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine. Located on the corner of North Hawkins and Thurmont, ironically an eyesore at the helm of the area in question, Keith's business has been an easy target for robberies.Recent statistics brought to light by a group of area residents spearheaded by Keith shewed that robberies on North Hawkins Avenue were prevalent ten years ..before the influx of Section 8 residents An isolated neighborhood establishment only a minute or two from mainstream businesses on West Market Street - depending upon the multifacetcd courses of directions you can choose to get there -- Thurmont House is at high risk from anyone off the main thoroughfare, with as many escape routes out as in. Yet Keith was quoted as having said: "It's not a Section 8 issue, but an issue of problems caused by people who live there. I'm not saying Section 8 is bad, but when you get a concentration of subsidized housing in one neighborhood, I think you're going to have problems." His store has been held up three times in the past year-anda-half. Twice by gunpoint, the last robbery occurring last March. Keith, who had threatened to shut his business down, now exclaims that he's staying. He's gotten a step-up in police protection since then. But at what price to the rest of the area he has bad-mouthed to the press over the last several months? Five black teenage boys who had heavily drank themselves into an inebriated stupor for two or more hours four weeks ago raped a white teenaged girl in the early hours of the morning under a well-lit city light in the street of Treeside Drive. Seven police squad cars were called to the scene after the incident occurred. Residents had been too afraid to tackle the youths who had fired shots into the air after the girl when she first fled from them. Where did these area youths get their abundant supply of booze? Why were they out past curfew? Why wasn't a police report filed? Why did the raped girl flee the scene of the crime? Why didn't police pursue the matter? How was it that a police report was filed on a dog who was shot and killed that night in the area of the rape by who residents believe were the same boys shortly after the rape occurred. How is it that none of the police from the seven cruisers who went through two buildings and the houses across the street interviewing willing witnesses never wrote down as much as a sentence that was filed with the police department as was the dog incident? Landlords are having a lot of trouble renting to anyone that the area has been \AiJfd the "unneighborly neighborhood."Yet folk like Dorothy Jackson, deputy mayor of Akron, live in the immediate area and a wellrespected female gynecologist as well as other established and known professionals and business people live slightly further down the way. The Reporter got an appointment to see an upper apartment of a twinplex apartment building on the corners of North Hawkins and Dominion several weeks ago. Elegant living space with such as that does not stay on the market more than a week Normally. But this one still is. It.now appears that the entire unit may be vacant -- and unrented. Continued to Page A4 Williams Receives Alpha Phi Alpha Highest Award Judge James R. Williams receives Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's highest award. The Award of Merit, at the Fraternity's annual Scholarship Forum in New Orleans, Louisiana, this past weekend. Judge Williams, a past National President of the fraternity, was cited for his contributions both to the fraternity and the community at large. He is tlie principal founder and Chairman Emeritus of Alpha Phi Alpha Homes, a nonprofit housing development corporation that has developed and manages more than 1500 units of housing in the Northeast Ohio area. He currently serves as President of the Akron Roundtable. a trustee of the Akron Community Foundation, and is a past Judge Junes R Williams president of the Akron Area Salvation Army and the Metro YMCA. Judge Williams is a former Akron Fourth Ward Councilman, Akron Councilman-atLarge and United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. He currently serves on the Court of Common Pleas of Summit County. Elktown Weekend Elktown Weekend will be held in Massillon July 26 thru July 28, 1996 by Tuscarawas Lodge #632 and Queen Mary Temple #778. For further information call (330) 833-0313. Million Man Audit Released "We are pleased to announce that the audit of the Million Man March has been completed and we are very pleased with audit results," Dr Benjamin F. Chavis, executive director of the march said in Washington recently.The audit, by independent certified public accounting firm Boiling and Hill Inc. of Chicago, revealed march organizers raised $1,953,316 before, during and after the march against expenses of $2,019,599, resulting in a deficit of $66,283. Considering that more than 2 million people participated in the massive solidarity demonstration at the West Front on the U.S. Capitol, Chavis, said it "is a miracle" that the deficit is not larger. Rev. Benjamin Chavis "Minister Louis Farrakhan promised an audit of the Million Man March," said Kamal Muhammad, national secretary of the Nation of Islam and chief financial officer of the march, said "And as far as we know, this is the first time an event like this has occurred where we have made such an audit public." The audit report answered the most nagging questions which have haunted march organizers; what happened to the huge cardboard boxes of money seen being collected on live television and how much was there? "On Oct. 16,1995 the participants in the march showed their support by donating $245,687.62 on the mall,'' Muhammad said. "Much more in donations could have been collected, but with less than 300 Continued to Page A3 ? I Akronites Meet BETTs Ed Gordon Akronites Johnnie Hannah, Sr. and Janette McCoy were in Washington, D.C. recently during the July 4th Holiday. While there, Howard University senior - Stacey Hannah arranged a BET (Black Entertainment Television) tour for them. Stacey Hannah had previously interned at BET for 2 semesters with the unit manager of Children's Entertainment programming and as a music department intern. Kevin Thylor, the music researcher and record label liaison for BET and producer of "Lyrically Speaking", provided a tour for the Akronites of BET offices, corporate building and studios. Thenighpoint of the tour was meeting former BET journalist Ed Gordon - who became the first reporter to interview O.J. Simpson in Icnclli after his acquittal. Gordon has reportedly signed a contract for three years with NBC News worth $400,000 to $500,000 annually. Gordon assumed his new position on July 8th. On Saturday, July ith, BET employees hosted a going away barbecue for Ed Gordon. He will surely be missed at BET. WAKC To Move To Cleveland Raymond L Burgess, D.Min, former Summit County Councilman, clergyman, advocate for the homeless and hungry, and a long-time community activist, informed our staff this week that Channel, WAKC TV 23 - 853 Copley Rd. - will be leaving the Akron community very soon. The station will be moving to Warrcnsvillc Heights, Ohio and the building will be sold, according to the General Manager, Glenn Schiller. This would leave the County of Summit without a television station. Burgess believes that a community of our size and population needs a station. With the new Minor League Baseball Stadium and all tnc new development downtown, it is important that we have at least one TV station to keep us informed of what s happening locally. Akron without a TV station is like birds without wings. Akron must fly again. Burgess is calling a mass meeting for all clergy persons and other interested community leaders for a luncheon meeting on Monday, luly 29, 1996 at 12:00 noon at the Tangier Restaurant, 532 W. Market St. "I have been in^Bitact with the owner of T301 station, Gwendolyn ChnJBpher of Baltimore, MarylaaTI need to raise $300,000 for Sffon's newest TV station. If efffi resident would just donatdfl .00, we could purchase thj#rV station within a monthJT Forarther information, contacuplr. Raymond Burgess at ofl|6e: 643-7176, or home: 869 Rev. Raymond L. Burgess | ATLANTA VOICE CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY The Atlanta \foice, a NNPA member paper, recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a scholarship ftindraising banquet at the Grand Hotel, Atlanta. The paper waa founded to the late J. Lowell Ware, and is published today by his daughter, NNPA treasurer Janice Ware. She has run the paper since her tether's 1991 death. NAACP: A 'NEW DAY BEGUN?' The above headline was the theme tor the NAACP's national convention, held recently in Charlotte, N.C This is a new da/ begun and I will fight until bell freezes over not to let anything divide us," said Kweisi Mfume, the group's president and CEO, to the Chavis, v^ovwaouaedbeowse of financial iraprapricty1ll?and Myrlie Evers-Williams, who replaced the ousted William Gibson as national board chair, are the group's new leaden. Bid do old problems remain? As wrote the AP: "Membere from a dozen Midwestern states protested (during the convention) against Mfiime's decision to move their regional office to Baltimore [the site of the group's national headquarters] from Detroit The move was part of Mfiime's plan to streamline operations. Some members of the 64-member board are also upset that Mfume reports only to a 17person executive committee, instead of the full body. The NAACP recently lost Wade Henderson, the longtime director of its Washington bureau, and is about to lose Ed Hailes Jr., the bureau's counsel The departures will leave the organization without a major lobbying presence in the nation s capital in the months leading up to November's elections." Although the NAACP has made new advances (such as getting itself on-line, etc.), their polices haven't BAN, SAYS CLINTON "We are prepared to stand by tit ban on 19 deadly assault weapons. It is the right thing to do.Vud President Clinton recently at the NAACP national convention in Charlotte, N.C. "1 will veto any attempt to repeal the assault weapons ban. You can't tell me it doesn't make a difference." Clinton made his remarks in attempt to contrast himself from GOP Presidential candidate Bob Dole, who has talked about wanting to repeal the ban. Dole was a noshow at the NAACP convention, turning down the group's invitation to speak because of prior campaign commitments. RACIST ALA. PRINCIPAL WHO OPPOSED INTER-RACIAL PROM GETS PROMOTED How does an Alabama principal who threatened to cancel a high school prom because students of different races would date each other get rewarded? If he's Hulond Humphries, former principal of the Randolph County High School in Wedowee, Ala. he wins the Democratic nomination for school superintendent in Randolph County, Ala. There is no opposition from the Republican party. Humphries was forced from office in 1994, after making controversial comments on mixed-race couples. He left office as part of a federal suit settlement The school was burned to the ground in an arson fire after the controversy. NATIONAL PARTY ENDS POLITICAL RULE IN SJl. I tie National Party, toe political party that crated apartheid and then helped to dismantle it, is no more in Sooth Africa. Former South African president F. W. Dc Kiert announced last month the "Nats," as they are nicknamed, would leave President Nelson Mandela's coalition government. They have done so. De Klerk says he wants to create a coalition of Christian-of all races. Within black South Africa, the National Party was synonymous with racism and racial brutality for generations. RODNEY KING IN TROUBLE AGAIN A California jury convicted Rodney King, the worid-fiunous mov torist whose violent 1991 arrest, caught on videotape, led to the 1992 South Central riots, of running over Us wife with Us car during a dispute He was acquitted of battery and assault with a deadly weapon (the automobile) King, who will be sentenced on Aug. 6, feces up to a year in jail or a $10,000 fine. King had received a $3 8 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles from the beating case. He has been in and out of headlines since 1991 for a variety of small offenses. ?DOMINO'S' DELIVERS-BUT NOT EVERYWHERE, SAYS BLACK S.F. OFFICIAL Willie Kennedy, 72, a San Francisco city supervisor, is angjy st the Domino's pizza chain because it refuses to deliver to a poor, blade district containing public housing "The neighborhood has been ostracized," she told the AP. "They think that every African American is a criminal." Kennedy introduced as ordinance requiring delivery to all neighborhoods, but the board said it would tnke in "good fai th" if a decision was nude not to do so because of danger. Pizza shop owners told the wire service they are reluctant to deliver in dangerous areas of the city, with those that do demanding "curbside" delivery. They cite several instances of robbery, and st least one murder, of delivery persons in the area. RWANDAN PRESIDENT BLASTS U.N. HEAD FOR BETRAYING AFRICA Rwandan president Pasteur Bizimungu recently called for another African candidate toarplacc Bomros-Boutros GhaM, an Egyptian, as U.N. Secretary fllhcra! because "he has not deliverwT" The president accuseve U.N. head of not doing enough to halt Rwanda's genodjt that kilted hundreds of thousands of people Rwanda was aiffst a support declaration for Boutros-Ghali given at the Drganijuon of African Unity summit, held in Cameroon. "Some peooVhave said we should have supported his candidacy hectare (SpuHcan solidarity, but African solidarity also means accountamty,* said Binmungu Other diastMersinctodod Ethiopia. Mfca and Ghana / Subscribe To The Reporter / / Call 773-4196 /I 81st Springarn Medalist nuivu JU1131 n. uvwn Higginbotham was named the 81st Spingarn Medalist at the 87th annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held in Charlotte, North Carolina.The Spingarn medal was instituted in 1914 by the late J.E. Spingarn (then the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP) to be awarded for the highest or noblest achievement by an African American during the preceding year or years. Judge Higginbotham is the former ChiefJustice of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Eastern District. A lifetime member of the NAACP, Judge Higginbotham served as president of the Philadelphia Branch NAACP. Judge Higginbotham is widely acknowledged as one of the astute minds in the legal arena. Many at the convention indicated that they felt that not only was the award overdue but that the Supreme Court seat currently occupied by Justice Clarence Thomas should have been held by Judge Higginbotham.One of the most recent and most sMificant positions held by JudfllHigginbotham was as Chair jvthe Search Committee for thvNational Director and Present of the 500,000 membeJTAACP.m describing Judge sgginbotham, the citation Mvtn to him, indicated that this reward was given, "In honor of a distinguished jurist, son of a laborer and a domestic servant; hotel busboy and teenage wheelContinued to Page A3 Judge A. Leon Higgtabotham, Springarn Medalist is congratulated by Dr. Robert Ddtchman of Akron Branch NAACP. Columbus Girl Drowns Seven-year-old Shawnette Agree, of Columbus, Ohio was retrieved from the swimming pool of the Family Inns of America - 900 S. Bcltine Highway - Wednesday, July 3,1996, stated Tom Jennings of the Mobile Alabama Police Depf ' Mr. Jennings noted that the victim was treated by firemedics and taken to Springhill Memorial Hospital She was later transferred to USA Doctor's Hospital. ' A preliminary investigation has determined the child t# among nine children, ages ,Wo IS, who were playing wdn a ball in the shallow end m the pool which is three fenocep All were related. Tychild's parents left poolside and had walked a few feet away The ball apparently went across a floating divider, the child tried to get the ball, and slipped beneath the water The other children quickly "*e9lkd for help and attempted to rcSve her with a line. An afit who was at the opposite Mi, saw the activity dove in, Jnd rescued the child in water ?Which was about nine feet deep 1 Another adult began efforts to revive the child and continued until relieved by arriving flremedics. Second Precinct, identification unit, touth services unit officers responded The near drowning was reported at noon.

P tyV /I L'ght In The Darkness V 27 Years Of Service To The Community '?"' 3SS?S&^SS?!^???rSS!!^* VOL. XXVD ? JULY 27,1996 THRU AUGUST 3,1996 SECTION A 25 CENTS PER COPY *< ?^^^?^??i^^??i^mm^___ Is Section 8 Housing Breeding Ground For Crime? I Is The Northwest Community And Its Specific Neighborhoods I Caught In the Crossfire Of Individuals' Personal Agendas ? by Lara Watkins Crime has been reported lately as seriously on the rise in Northwest Akron In particular North Hawkins Avenue at Thurmont Road encompassing Treeside, Cromwell, and Dominion Drives, the hot zone being Zahn Drive. The bone that has been thrown to Akron area residents is that Section 8 housing coming into that small, isolated parcel of rental properties in the Northwest area is causing its share of undue and malicious crime that is literally tearing down the moral fiber as well as the real estate value of property in that area, sending the community into a panic of uncontrollable fear and rage. At first glance it appears that race has nothing to do with it because working-class African Americans who have moved into this mostly affluent section of town to live decently and quietly, able to raise their children in a low-crime, healthy, clean and prosperous environment, are also outraged, openly taking offense along with the rest of the community of the deplorable increase of crime brought to the area under the federal government's Housing and Community Act of 1974 permitting government subsidized housing to the poor. Many African American nonSection 8 apartment and townhouse dwellers as well as area homeowners who pay the price to live unafraid and unconcerned for their and their children's safety and well-being and their acquired property, find the ghetto and all of its wasteful baggage entrenching all around, plaguing them and the rest of the community with an onslaught of felonies and misdemeanor crimes. Like a runaway train without brakes low-income residents are making no apologies for being there ? by reason of their right to live anywhere they want under the non-discrimination clause of Section 8, enforced by the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority Fair Housing program.There is no limit to how many low-income Section 8 tenants may move into any specific area of the city. Section 8 applicants, therefore, have free choice in picking where they want to live in "scattered" locations around the city as long as the private landlords with whom they contract meet the federal government's income guidelines and the property passes government inspectionsAt the top of the list of those complaining the loudest has been Bob Keith, owner of Thurmont House, a convenience store and pizza place which also sells alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine. Located on the corner of North Hawkins and Thurmont, ironically an eyesore at the helm of the area in question, Keith's business has been an easy target for robberies.Recent statistics brought to light by a group of area residents spearheaded by Keith shewed that robberies on North Hawkins Avenue were prevalent ten years ..before the influx of Section 8 residents An isolated neighborhood establishment only a minute or two from mainstream businesses on West Market Street - depending upon the multifacetcd courses of directions you can choose to get there -- Thurmont House is at high risk from anyone off the main thoroughfare, with as many escape routes out as in. Yet Keith was quoted as having said: "It's not a Section 8 issue, but an issue of problems caused by people who live there. I'm not saying Section 8 is bad, but when you get a concentration of subsidized housing in one neighborhood, I think you're going to have problems." His store has been held up three times in the past year-anda-half. Twice by gunpoint, the last robbery occurring last March. Keith, who had threatened to shut his business down, now exclaims that he's staying. He's gotten a step-up in police protection since then. But at what price to the rest of the area he has bad-mouthed to the press over the last several months? Five black teenage boys who had heavily drank themselves into an inebriated stupor for two or more hours four weeks ago raped a white teenaged girl in the early hours of the morning under a well-lit city light in the street of Treeside Drive. Seven police squad cars were called to the scene after the incident occurred. Residents had been too afraid to tackle the youths who had fired shots into the air after the girl when she first fled from them. Where did these area youths get their abundant supply of booze? Why were they out past curfew? Why wasn't a police report filed? Why did the raped girl flee the scene of the crime? Why didn't police pursue the matter? How was it that a police report was filed on a dog who was shot and killed that night in the area of the rape by who residents believe were the same boys shortly after the rape occurred. How is it that none of the police from the seven cruisers who went through two buildings and the houses across the street interviewing willing witnesses never wrote down as much as a sentence that was filed with the police department as was the dog incident? Landlords are having a lot of trouble renting to anyone that the area has been \AiJfd the "unneighborly neighborhood."Yet folk like Dorothy Jackson, deputy mayor of Akron, live in the immediate area and a wellrespected female gynecologist as well as other established and known professionals and business people live slightly further down the way. The Reporter got an appointment to see an upper apartment of a twinplex apartment building on the corners of North Hawkins and Dominion several weeks ago. Elegant living space with such as that does not stay on the market more than a week Normally. But this one still is. It.now appears that the entire unit may be vacant -- and unrented. Continued to Page A4 Williams Receives Alpha Phi Alpha Highest Award Judge James R. Williams receives Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity's highest award. The Award of Merit, at the Fraternity's annual Scholarship Forum in New Orleans, Louisiana, this past weekend. Judge Williams, a past National President of the fraternity, was cited for his contributions both to the fraternity and the community at large. He is tlie principal founder and Chairman Emeritus of Alpha Phi Alpha Homes, a nonprofit housing development corporation that has developed and manages more than 1500 units of housing in the Northeast Ohio area. He currently serves as President of the Akron Roundtable. a trustee of the Akron Community Foundation, and is a past Judge Junes R Williams president of the Akron Area Salvation Army and the Metro YMCA. Judge Williams is a former Akron Fourth Ward Councilman, Akron Councilman-atLarge and United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. He currently serves on the Court of Common Pleas of Summit County. Elktown Weekend Elktown Weekend will be held in Massillon July 26 thru July 28, 1996 by Tuscarawas Lodge #632 and Queen Mary Temple #778. For further information call (330) 833-0313. Million Man Audit Released "We are pleased to announce that the audit of the Million Man March has been completed and we are very pleased with audit results," Dr Benjamin F. Chavis, executive director of the march said in Washington recently.The audit, by independent certified public accounting firm Boiling and Hill Inc. of Chicago, revealed march organizers raised $1,953,316 before, during and after the march against expenses of $2,019,599, resulting in a deficit of $66,283. Considering that more than 2 million people participated in the massive solidarity demonstration at the West Front on the U.S. Capitol, Chavis, said it "is a miracle" that the deficit is not larger. Rev. Benjamin Chavis "Minister Louis Farrakhan promised an audit of the Million Man March," said Kamal Muhammad, national secretary of the Nation of Islam and chief financial officer of the march, said "And as far as we know, this is the first time an event like this has occurred where we have made such an audit public." The audit report answered the most nagging questions which have haunted march organizers; what happened to the huge cardboard boxes of money seen being collected on live television and how much was there? "On Oct. 16,1995 the participants in the march showed their support by donating $245,687.62 on the mall,'' Muhammad said. "Much more in donations could have been collected, but with less than 300 Continued to Page A3 ? I Akronites Meet BETTs Ed Gordon Akronites Johnnie Hannah, Sr. and Janette McCoy were in Washington, D.C. recently during the July 4th Holiday. While there, Howard University senior - Stacey Hannah arranged a BET (Black Entertainment Television) tour for them. Stacey Hannah had previously interned at BET for 2 semesters with the unit manager of Children's Entertainment programming and as a music department intern. Kevin Thylor, the music researcher and record label liaison for BET and producer of "Lyrically Speaking", provided a tour for the Akronites of BET offices, corporate building and studios. Thenighpoint of the tour was meeting former BET journalist Ed Gordon - who became the first reporter to interview O.J. Simpson in Icnclli after his acquittal. Gordon has reportedly signed a contract for three years with NBC News worth $400,000 to $500,000 annually. Gordon assumed his new position on July 8th. On Saturday, July ith, BET employees hosted a going away barbecue for Ed Gordon. He will surely be missed at BET. WAKC To Move To Cleveland Raymond L Burgess, D.Min, former Summit County Councilman, clergyman, advocate for the homeless and hungry, and a long-time community activist, informed our staff this week that Channel, WAKC TV 23 - 853 Copley Rd. - will be leaving the Akron community very soon. The station will be moving to Warrcnsvillc Heights, Ohio and the building will be sold, according to the General Manager, Glenn Schiller. This would leave the County of Summit without a television station. Burgess believes that a community of our size and population needs a station. With the new Minor League Baseball Stadium and all tnc new development downtown, it is important that we have at least one TV station to keep us informed of what s happening locally. Akron without a TV station is like birds without wings. Akron must fly again. Burgess is calling a mass meeting for all clergy persons and other interested community leaders for a luncheon meeting on Monday, luly 29, 1996 at 12:00 noon at the Tangier Restaurant, 532 W. Market St. "I have been in^Bitact with the owner of T301 station, Gwendolyn ChnJBpher of Baltimore, MarylaaTI need to raise $300,000 for Sffon's newest TV station. If efffi resident would just donatdfl .00, we could purchase thj#rV station within a monthJT Forarther information, contacuplr. Raymond Burgess at ofl|6e: 643-7176, or home: 869 Rev. Raymond L. Burgess | ATLANTA VOICE CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY The Atlanta \foice, a NNPA member paper, recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a scholarship ftindraising banquet at the Grand Hotel, Atlanta. The paper waa founded to the late J. Lowell Ware, and is published today by his daughter, NNPA treasurer Janice Ware. She has run the paper since her tether's 1991 death. NAACP: A 'NEW DAY BEGUN?' The above headline was the theme tor the NAACP's national convention, held recently in Charlotte, N.C This is a new da/ begun and I will fight until bell freezes over not to let anything divide us," said Kweisi Mfume, the group's president and CEO, to the Chavis, v^ovwaouaedbeowse of financial iraprapricty1ll?and Myrlie Evers-Williams, who replaced the ousted William Gibson as national board chair, are the group's new leaden. Bid do old problems remain? As wrote the AP: "Membere from a dozen Midwestern states protested (during the convention) against Mfiime's decision to move their regional office to Baltimore [the site of the group's national headquarters] from Detroit The move was part of Mfiime's plan to streamline operations. Some members of the 64-member board are also upset that Mfume reports only to a 17person executive committee, instead of the full body. The NAACP recently lost Wade Henderson, the longtime director of its Washington bureau, and is about to lose Ed Hailes Jr., the bureau's counsel The departures will leave the organization without a major lobbying presence in the nation s capital in the months leading up to November's elections." Although the NAACP has made new advances (such as getting itself on-line, etc.), their polices haven't BAN, SAYS CLINTON "We are prepared to stand by tit ban on 19 deadly assault weapons. It is the right thing to do.Vud President Clinton recently at the NAACP national convention in Charlotte, N.C. "1 will veto any attempt to repeal the assault weapons ban. You can't tell me it doesn't make a difference." Clinton made his remarks in attempt to contrast himself from GOP Presidential candidate Bob Dole, who has talked about wanting to repeal the ban. Dole was a noshow at the NAACP convention, turning down the group's invitation to speak because of prior campaign commitments. RACIST ALA. PRINCIPAL WHO OPPOSED INTER-RACIAL PROM GETS PROMOTED How does an Alabama principal who threatened to cancel a high school prom because students of different races would date each other get rewarded? If he's Hulond Humphries, former principal of the Randolph County High School in Wedowee, Ala. he wins the Democratic nomination for school superintendent in Randolph County, Ala. There is no opposition from the Republican party. Humphries was forced from office in 1994, after making controversial comments on mixed-race couples. He left office as part of a federal suit settlement The school was burned to the ground in an arson fire after the controversy. NATIONAL PARTY ENDS POLITICAL RULE IN SJl. I tie National Party, toe political party that crated apartheid and then helped to dismantle it, is no more in Sooth Africa. Former South African president F. W. Dc Kiert announced last month the "Nats," as they are nicknamed, would leave President Nelson Mandela's coalition government. They have done so. De Klerk says he wants to create a coalition of Christian-of all races. Within black South Africa, the National Party was synonymous with racism and racial brutality for generations. RODNEY KING IN TROUBLE AGAIN A California jury convicted Rodney King, the worid-fiunous mov torist whose violent 1991 arrest, caught on videotape, led to the 1992 South Central riots, of running over Us wife with Us car during a dispute He was acquitted of battery and assault with a deadly weapon (the automobile) King, who will be sentenced on Aug. 6, feces up to a year in jail or a $10,000 fine. King had received a $3 8 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles from the beating case. He has been in and out of headlines since 1991 for a variety of small offenses. ?DOMINO'S' DELIVERS-BUT NOT EVERYWHERE, SAYS BLACK S.F. OFFICIAL Willie Kennedy, 72, a San Francisco city supervisor, is angjy st the Domino's pizza chain because it refuses to deliver to a poor, blade district containing public housing "The neighborhood has been ostracized," she told the AP. "They think that every African American is a criminal." Kennedy introduced as ordinance requiring delivery to all neighborhoods, but the board said it would tnke in "good fai th" if a decision was nude not to do so because of danger. Pizza shop owners told the wire service they are reluctant to deliver in dangerous areas of the city, with those that do demanding "curbside" delivery. They cite several instances of robbery, and st least one murder, of delivery persons in the area. RWANDAN PRESIDENT BLASTS U.N. HEAD FOR BETRAYING AFRICA Rwandan president Pasteur Bizimungu recently called for another African candidate toarplacc Bomros-Boutros GhaM, an Egyptian, as U.N. Secretary fllhcra! because "he has not deliverwT" The president accuseve U.N. head of not doing enough to halt Rwanda's genodjt that kilted hundreds of thousands of people Rwanda was aiffst a support declaration for Boutros-Ghali given at the Drganijuon of African Unity summit, held in Cameroon. "Some peooVhave said we should have supported his candidacy hectare (SpuHcan solidarity, but African solidarity also means accountamty,* said Binmungu Other diastMersinctodod Ethiopia. Mfca and Ghana / Subscribe To The Reporter / / Call 773-4196 /I 81st Springarn Medalist nuivu JU1131 n. uvwn Higginbotham was named the 81st Spingarn Medalist at the 87th annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held in Charlotte, North Carolina.The Spingarn medal was instituted in 1914 by the late J.E. Spingarn (then the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP) to be awarded for the highest or noblest achievement by an African American during the preceding year or years. Judge Higginbotham is the former ChiefJustice of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Eastern District. A lifetime member of the NAACP, Judge Higginbotham served as president of the Philadelphia Branch NAACP. Judge Higginbotham is widely acknowledged as one of the astute minds in the legal arena. Many at the convention indicated that they felt that not only was the award overdue but that the Supreme Court seat currently occupied by Justice Clarence Thomas should have been held by Judge Higginbotham.One of the most recent and most sMificant positions held by JudfllHigginbotham was as Chair jvthe Search Committee for thvNational Director and Present of the 500,000 membeJTAACP.m describing Judge sgginbotham, the citation Mvtn to him, indicated that this reward was given, "In honor of a distinguished jurist, son of a laborer and a domestic servant; hotel busboy and teenage wheelContinued to Page A3 Judge A. Leon Higgtabotham, Springarn Medalist is congratulated by Dr. Robert Ddtchman of Akron Branch NAACP. Columbus Girl Drowns Seven-year-old Shawnette Agree, of Columbus, Ohio was retrieved from the swimming pool of the Family Inns of America - 900 S. Bcltine Highway - Wednesday, July 3,1996, stated Tom Jennings of the Mobile Alabama Police Depf ' Mr. Jennings noted that the victim was treated by firemedics and taken to Springhill Memorial Hospital She was later transferred to USA Doctor's Hospital. ' A preliminary investigation has determined the child t# among nine children, ages ,Wo IS, who were playing wdn a ball in the shallow end m the pool which is three fenocep All were related. Tychild's parents left poolside and had walked a few feet away The ball apparently went across a floating divider, the child tried to get the ball, and slipped beneath the water The other children quickly "*e9lkd for help and attempted to rcSve her with a line. An afit who was at the opposite Mi, saw the activity dove in, Jnd rescued the child in water ?Which was about nine feet deep 1 Another adult began efforts to revive the child and continued until relieved by arriving flremedics. Second Precinct, identification unit, touth services unit officers responded The near drowning was reported at noon.